This was the little building behind my grandpa's house that the cousins were never allowed to go in; however, I know that when my mom and her brothers and sisters were young, it was an important part of their farm life - the smokehouse.
Just as important as the smokehouse was the garden beside it. I do have many memories of the garden. When I was very small, I got to ride on Prince, the big brown mule, while Grandpa plowed the long rows. (I know that tillers were usually used by that time, but Grandpa and Prince worked the rows just as they had done for years.) My strongest memories from the garden involve dealing with its produce. Strawberries to slice and cover with sugar to freeze... Peas to shell... Beans to snap... Cabbage to shred and salt for kraut... Tomatoes to blanch for canning... Egg plant to, hmmm, I don't remember what we did with the egg plant...
"Grandpa's Smokehouse" was recently featured in an Etsy treasury (collection of art pieces and vintage items) celebrating Pawpaw's Place.
If you would like to purchase a giclee or print of "Grandpa's Smokehouse," contact me.
A flower is just more beautiful if you put the seed in the ground yourself, watered the sprout, kept the weeds away, and noticed the first bloom.
How many books is enough? Hmmm....
Sometimes painting just amazes me. I remember when I went to my first painting lesson about 3 1/2 years ago; my teacher said, "You're going to train your eyes to see things in a different way." I wondered how in the world I could do that and really didn't understand what she could possibly mean.
Have you gotten roses lately? They're lovely, of course. But, how come they barely have a smell anymore? Did the smell get engineered out as their traveling stamina got engineered in?
I painted this as a challenge piece for Artistic Sentiments. I love the concept of this site - an image is presented then artists are invited to create and share art inspired by that image. It's so interesting to see the diversity in style. The image used for inspiration for this challenge was a painting by Van Gogh called "Still Life with Pitcher and Lemons." 
How long do you think this little one had to be still to get a monarch to flutter so close?
Why do I love this particular sunflower so much? 
I love this little bright-eyed baby. I think it's pretty clear that his Mama does too. I hope she takes every opportunity to give him kisses. In no time at all, he'll think he's too big.
What do you get someone who has everything he needs? 
I saw this little bridge in the park every week as I was growing up. It was a sort of boundary, "Don't go past the bridge!" I never noticed how lovely it was until going back years later. 
